Extra Olives, Please....Oil Painting

Extra Olives, Please.....10x20.....oil.....SOLD

This was my first time to paint olives by themselves. I got a lot of good comments on them. They were my mom's favorite. And then, at my show, while I was standing talking to a lady that had just told me that she was going to buy this painting...the gallery owner came and removed it from the wall....someone else had already purchased it. But I plan to do more. I love the greens that I got to use for this subject...a real challenge to mix it just right.

2010 has got to improve soon....

This year has gotten off to a rocky start in many ways. Sure, there have been some bright spots....the Saints DID win the Superbowl, I HAVE had my first solo art show in a major local gallery, and my art IS selling very well right now. But the bad things that have happened are too major.

First my daughter and Son in law to be got in a bad car wreck. Luckily they were both ok, but my daughter missed over 2 weeks of work and is still in physical therapy. She was hurt as bad as you can be and still not have broken bones or an "identifiable" injury. Just deep, deep bruising and soft tissue trauma, and strained cartilage(which we are learning is very slow to heal!) Thanks goodness it was not worse, which it so easily could have been.

And then yesterday we had to make the hard decision to have one of our little shih-tzus put to sleep. Bailey(far right) had been slowing down over the last few months and a few weeks ago he got a cough. After 2 rounds of anti-biotics he was better, but just not quite as perky. Yesterday we had to take him to the vet because the cough had recurred all of a sudden. Xrays revealed that he most likely had lymphoma. The next steps to find out for sure were so invasive and possibly inconclusive on top of the fact that he was having to struggle so hard to breath....the vet said we were essentially left with no choice. Man, oh man, do we miss him.

Art tomorrow I promise, but today I had to get the bad stuff out of the way.

Back to Business...

Holidays are over.....decorations are packed.....to-do list is longer than my leg!

For those of you who are just tuning in and for those who have not been paying attention here's what we are up against. I have a list of events and projects that would choke a water-buffalo. My mission is to get each item checked off the list in a timely manner, done to the best of my ability at the moment, and to enjoy the process. Some (but not all) of the items on this list include:

• a large commission piece featuring three wine bottles from a client in Missouri. Ready to start on this TODAY. (as soon as I finish this blog entry)
• Wedding for Dacia(my daughter) and Shaun (in June) This week's focus...send out save the date cards. This means finding addresses for the 100 people that I have not got addresses for. I just finished printing them and they are top-notch!
• Planning and hosting a shower for my little niece who is expecting her much anticipated first baby. : )
• My first solo art show will be February 18...did I mention that I will have to have 20 NEW paintings by then.
• Grandtwin's first birthday party is at our house on Feb. 6. I simply cannot believe that these little beauties are already going to be 1!!!!!!!!
• Engagement party for Dacia and Shaun is January 23, so in addition to the above I also have to lose 30 pounds by Jan 23.
• As an enhancement to the wedding weight loss we decided to sign up for the Rock-n-roll marathon in New Orleans in Feb. We had so much fun doing the 1/2 marathon(walking it, of course) for my 50th a couple of years ago, that we are doing it again. This means training for it....which we should have been doing for the last 2 months at least, but you know, the holidays and all. Plus it's been COLD!

I am sure there are more things that rightly should go on this list...but right now I am glad that I can't think of them. This is enough!

It's good to get this down in writing though. Not only does it motivate me to get going, but also if anyone doubts that I don't have time to do something that I tell them I don't have time for, I will refer them to my blog post from 1-11-10.

Hello from Kentucky!

McKinley Paige Drennan...November 2009
Our little pilgrim-turkey girls...too precious for words

Kayleigh Lorelle.....November 2009

Well, this year there is definitely MUCH to be thankful for! We have enjoyed these little girls so much!!!! They are so precious and happy. There is nothing in the world like having one of them crawl over to you and stand up next to you to play and smile and dance. They love to snuggle up and Kayleigh likes to give kisses now. We are so proud of these little chickies. They have such sweet personalities. They are truly good babies. Can't wait to have them with us at Christmas!!!

I'm "published!

I enjoy, very much, a web site for artists and art-lovers, called The Empty Easel. It is a very comprehensive site that offers art how-to's, tips for selling art online, opinions on everything art-related as well as introductions of various artists in various disciplines around the country (and world sometimes). A week or so ago they invited artists to answer the question "What is Art?"

Well, those of you who know me know that I can expound for 30 minutes on a subject that I know absolutely nothing about, so you can imagine how I could get rolling when the subject is ART. So I dashed off a response giving my thoughts on the matter.

Imagine my surprise when in my inbox today I found the weekly newsletter that I get from EE and there, where they display what had been featured during the week, was the article by ME! They published the article in it's entirety complete with photos of two of my recent paintings and a link to my blog! You can read the article here .

Woo! Woo! And since I don't like a book with no pictures (or a blog, either) here is a shot of one of my favorite paintings that I have done in the past. It features art on the fence in New Orleans being viewed by passers-by...interpreting the work of others in their own way.

Fence Gallery...30x40..oil on canvas...Sold

Art at the Auditorium...

This is the poster from the event that I was a part of on Tuesday night. A very cool restaurant in Jackson has started doing meet the artist night once a month and I was one of the featured artists this month. Great food, great people, great fun. This is the poster that advertised the upcoming adventure. I think this is the first time I have seen my name in poster form. They did a great job.

And speaking of adventures...I had another one Monday night. I was the Guest Artist at Easely Amused...a paint-your-own-masterpiece gallery here in our town. It was great fun and I plan to do another one in January...we did a palm tree this time. I think in January we will either do a crab or a group of tomatoes.

With having taught a painting Mon. and then having had the meet and greet on Tues. (coming on the heels of an outdoor weekend show) I was pooped out by Wed. But I am packing the car today and we are off to Covington, LA tomorrow for the Three Rivers Arts Festival. I have a new set-up for displaying my prints that I am anxious to try. Hopefully we will have beautiful weather and great sales.

I have big news on the horizon, but it is a little too soon to talk about it...more info coming as soon as details are definite.

Crabs and more crabs....Shell-y and Clawed

"Shell-y".....12x12.....oil....$150(sold)

"Clawed"...12x12....oil....$150(sold)

These are two more in my "seafood" series...I have loved giving them slightly skewed people names. If these guys don't sell, I might just end up hanging them in my house somewhere...I like them that much.

Seafood Sampler...Crab, Shrimp, and Crawfish

Painting 1

Painting 2


Painting 3

# 1..."A-2 Fay"....12x12...oil.....$150(sold)

#2..."Barbie Q".....12x12....oil....$150(sold)

#3...."Sue Shee"...12x12.....oil.....$150(sold)

These are three paintings that I did for the festivals that I have coming up. As I said in a previous post....this is how I want to paint. I love the colorful loose style and the mood of the paintings. And it was a little bit of fun naming them.

Tipsy Wine and Wine Straight Up..Oil Paintings...

Painting 1 Painting 2

#1........Tipsy Wine................8x16............$130

#2.....Wine Straight Up........8x16............$130

These are two more wine bottle paintings that I have done to get ready for my two upcoming shows. They are fun and evoke thoughts of having a good time, I think.

Speaking of having a good time.....I have some more paintings waiting in the the wings to unveil. I just love them, the style, the subject, the mood of them. I am finally getting a more consistent "look" for my work. I have all my new stuff hanging in the foyer to dry and when I look around I see that I am heading in the direction that I want to be. I knew that my little "painter's block" that I experienced last week was probably a harbinger of change and I was right. I am so much closer to where I want to be.

This is not to say that everyone is going to like my paintings better, or that they will sell better (but I hope both of these things do happen). I used to paint a painting every now and then and be able to say..."this is how I want to paint!" But then I would fall back into the inconsistent mode and paint something totally different in style and mood. Now I am finding that I am turning out one of those "this is how I want it to be" paintings much more often now.

I don't ever want to be one of those painters that finds a "niche" and then paints nothing but trees or nothing but houses. I want my unifying factor to be my signature style and my consistent choice of colors. I think in this past week I have taken a step closer to achieving that goal.

Blue Heron on the Bayou....Oil Painting

"Blue Heron on the Bayou"....12x24...oil......$290(sold)

This is a painting I did for the Peter Anderson Festival in Ocean Springs. Their website is beautiful, but I have to say the way they list the artists leaves a lot to be desired. If you click on the right to see Visit our Vendors...it brings up a word document and I am on page 13 out of 14 if anyone wants to take it to that level. I would advise just look at the other stuff and skip that step. My booth is #710 and I will be in a spot off of Government between Government and DeSoto. I am going down there for something else this weekend so I will check it out and get better directions for those who are near enough to attend. It is a wonderful festival with so many talented artisans...I am just proud to be there!